14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher and hardware developer Sony has announced that it is actively working on a new firmware update, labeled 3.70, for its PlayStation 3 home gaming console, which is set to be launched soon, although no clear date was given.
Sony says that the biggest change will be the introduction of the Automatic Update service, which will allow gamers to mark video games and have their saved games delivered automatically to cloud storage spaces provided by the company.
This service will only be offered for those who are subscribing to the PlayStation Plus service and that it will work on the same schedule as the automatic downloads feature.
Sony is saying that, after the community has asked for it for quite some time, it plans to introduce a new feature to the PlayStation Store which allows any user to rate content that has been posted there and then send a recommendation to buy directly to those who are part of their PSN Friends list.
The XMB is also set to get a new category, the TV/Video Services, that will include streaming sources like Hulu, VUDU and Netflix.
The category will also allow PlayStation Network users to see what other sources for streaming content are available in their territories.
The Blu-ray features of the PlayStation 3 home gaming console will also be updated by Sony, with the main additions being support for 3D when accessing a number of new Java powered features.
There are also updates to the decoding and streaming options.
The Photo Gallery is also set to get support for the new MPO 3D format.
Sony is known for also delivering updates to the security of the PS3 via the firmware updates, although it often chooses not to mention them before the updates are implemented.
It seems that a firmware update is also set to come to the PlayStation Portable handheld in the coming weeks.